How (Not) to Seduce a Blueshirt
by TheDreamSmith28
Summary: Jim tries to catch the attention of the new medical officer on board the Enterprise. Scotty and Jaylah give terrible relationship advice. This is why Bones drinks.
1. Chapter 1

'We are now in orbit around Argratha, Keptin.' Chekov called, his hands flying over the navigation console. 'Have you chosen the away team for tomorrow's first contact mission? …Keptin?'

James T Kirk had not heard a word that his navigation officer had said, for he had been too busy gazing at the new veterinary science officer as she leant over a console, deep in conversation with one of the other blue shirts.

That was, until a pointed cough from Mr Sulu dragged his attention back to matters at hand.

'Did you hear me, Keptin?' The bridge's youngest officer made a valiant effort to keep his features neutral.

'I believe the Captain was studying the…moon.' Uhura's voice was impassive but he just knew that she was smirking as she monitored the incoming transmissions from Argratha.

Something that sounded suspiciously like a giggle came from the direction of the navigation console, but he decided to ignore it. Jim consoled himself that at least it wasn't Jaylah. Scotty's second-in-command would've skipped the double entendre altogether and announced – loudly – to the entire bridge that the captain had been paying more attention to the doctor's ass than their impending diplomatic mission.

Clearing his throat, he attempted to regain some semblance of dignity and pretend that his ears were not currently bright red. He failed miserably at both.

'Ah…yes, what's Argratha's moon called again?'

Sulu opened his mouth to reply but Spock's voice that rang out across the bridge.

'Doctor Lyall?'

The bridge crew didn't bother to hide their laughter this time and Jim sank further into the Captain's chair – maybe he'd throw himself out the airlock once Alpha shift ended.

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Reyne had just finished the weekly checks on the avian species in the menagerie when her comm beeped. Murray glanced up from his PADD at the sound but otherwise made no comment as he returned to his reports.

'Doctor Lyall here.'

'Doctor, you are needed on ze bridge at once.' The young navigator's voice was higher than she'd ever heard it, and in the background of the call there were the faints sound of people yelling and furniture being knocked about.

'What's going on, Mr Chekov?' It was rare enough that she was called to the bridge, and even on those occasions it was always to do with some science mission that she needed to discuss with Commander Spock.

'There is a blue rat on ze bridge!' The Ensign's voice broke on the last syllable and Reyne winced as she held the comm away from her ear.

'Alright, alright. I'll be there in five minutes, just stay calm Mr Chekov – I'm sure it's more scared of you than you are of it. Lyall out.' With a shake of her head, Reyne ended the comm and turned to face Murray, who had been listening to the whole, bizarre exchange.

'A blue rat?' His eyebrows had disappeared under the fall of his fringe. 'What was the last planet we visited? Draco 6? Do you think it's a-'

'More than bloody likely.' She swept a lock of dark hair behind her ear as she grabbed a med kit and trap disk from the bench beside the door. 'I'm going to kill whoever let it onto this ship.'

Reyne spotted the creature as soon as she emerged from the turbolift. She bit back a sigh of annoyance – Murray had been correct in his prediction.

'Why the fuck is there a Lethian rat on the bridge? Please tell me there's only one.'

At first, no one seemed inclined to answer either question, but finally Chekov piped up from his place behind the navigation console.

'Aye, Doctor.'

'Thank god.'

With a nod to the young Ensign, Reyne cast around for the piercing blue eyes and shit-eating grin that seemed to be at the epicentre of every disaster aboard this god-forsaken starship. A flash of command gold caught her eye as she spotted the captain crouched a few metres away from the small, blue rodent; eyes focused on his prey.

Eyes widening, she started forward but before she could issue a warning, Jim Kirk lunged forward, hands closing around the rat with a shout of victory.

His cheer quickly became a strangled yelp.

'Bugger bit me!'

The Lethian rat took the opening and scurried away, causing several of the younger ensigns to jump onto their chairs as it scampered to the far side of the bridge.

In the ensuing chaos, Reyne turned just in time to see Jim raise his hand to his mouth.

'Don't!' The sharpness of her outburst effectively grabbed his attention. 'Lethian rats are venomous, and it's worse when ingested. Wait a minute and I'll bandage it up.'

Quickly, she pulled the trap disk from her bag and flicked the switch to prime it. The little metal circle would emit pheromones to attract the creature and humanely immobilise it once it got close enough. With a flick of her wrist, Reyne tossed the disk onto the floor in the general direction of the rodent and turned to face the captain.

Despite his injury, Jim Kirk gave her a winning smile as she stalked towards him, already pulling a bandage from her kit.

'How did that thing come to be on the bridge, Captain?'

With skilled hands, Reyne disinfected the laceration and bound his palm with a biostrip.

'Must've climbed up my shirt while I was on the away mission to Draco 6.' The captain shrugged nonchalantly. 'Scurried out of my sleeve.'

Reyne opened her mouth to point out the holes in his story but decided against it. She'd heard enough from Dr McCoy to know that Jim could be as stubborn as an ass when he wanted to be – which was almost all the time. Especially when it came to his physical exams.

'You're lucky there was only one; those things make tribbles look abstinent. Could've ended up with a ship-wide infestation of venomous blue rodents.' With a shake of her head, she tied off the bandage. 'You'll need to go to the medbay – if it's not treated within a couple of hours, the venom causes mild amnesia that gets worse the longer it's left in your system. Until I catch this thing, just do what you usually do – sit in your chair and look pretty.'

It was the wrong thing to say because his eyes immediately lit up and he batted his eyelashes at her.

'You think I'm pretty, doctor?'

The sharp beeping of the trap disk and a barrage of high pitched squealing saved her from having to reply as the rat fought against the snare.

Carefully, so she didn't get bitten as well, Reyne picked up the snare and raised the wriggling rodent to eye level.

'Couldn't resist, could you? Horny wee bugger.' The creature snapped it teeth at her. 'Male, good. That means you won't be popping out babies left, right and centre.'

With the press of another button, the disk injected the rodent with a small amount of sedative, and within a few seconds it had ceased its wriggling, but still eyed her with barely concealed rage.

'Lethian rats get their name from an ancient Earthen mythology. Right, c'mon.' She tipped her head towards the turbolift. 'I'll drop this wee guy off at the menagerie on the way to the medbay – I'll need to give Dr McCoy the specifics of the venom.'

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Five minutes later, Reyne strode into the menagerie with Jim in tow.

'You were right Murray!' She gave her colleague a wide grin, depositing the sedated rat onto the exam table. 'Look, I've brought you a friend.'

'How wonderful.' Murray adjusted his glasses and peered at the sluggish rodent. 'And what would you like me to do with it?'

'De-venom and examine it, I've got to take the captain to the medbay – he got bitten.'

'Fine, but you owe me some of the cookies I know you have squirreled away in your office. The replicators can never seem to get them right.' He accepted the storage box that she passed to him before glancing over her shoulder. 'Um, Ree… You might want to book it over to medical, the captain isn't looking too hot.'

Reyne whirled around, and it was immediately obvious was Murray was talking about; Captain Kirk had turned a sickly grey colour, and a faint sheen of sweat had broken out across his forehead.

'Shit.' She levered herself under his arm, guiding him away from where he had been leaning against the doorframe. 'You must've had an allergic reaction to the venom. Shit.'

With a hurried farewell to Murray, she half-carried the captain out of the menagerie and towards the medbay.

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Jim's legs gave out just as they reached medical, and Reyne buckled under his weight as they stumbled through the medbay's doors.

'Dr McCoy!'

The older doctor came hurrying out of his office at the sound of her voice, and his ever-present scowl only deepened when he noticed the half-conscious captain slung over her shoulders.

'What the devil happened to him this time? Put him down on the biobed there.' He directed her to the nearest cubicle, and Reyne gasped in relief when Jim's weight finally slid from her shoulders.

'A Lethian rat got loose on the bridge, and our heroic captain decided to try and catch it with his bare hands – got bitten for his trouble.'

'Unbelievable.'

'It's a slow acting neurotoxin, and I think he's going into anaphylactic shock.' Reyne stepped back to allow Leonard to examine Jim.

'How long ago was he bitten?' Leonard jabbed a hypo into the side of Jim's neck. 'That should stop the allergic reaction.'

'About twenty minutes ago.'

'Right.' He turned to root through a drawer of vials, finally selecting one and adding it to a hypo already half-full of viscous yellow fluid. 'This should do it.'

Jim shot the doctor a poisonous look but otherwise didn't protest the second hypo. His colour was rapidly returning to normal and his breathing wasn't as shallow.

'I disinfected and bandaged the bite on the bridge, so that shouldn't be an issue.'

'Thanks darlin'.' His features softened for a moment – as close to a smile as Leonard ever came, before he turned the full force of his glare onto the recovering captain. 'Now have you always gotta go throwing yourself into trouble without thinkin'?'

Reyne glanced over the PADD that Leonard had left on the side. Confident that the good doctor had things under control, she left the medbay with the sound of the captain getting a well-deserved dressing down from his CMO fading behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

The next comm from the bridge came through while she was between shifts, perched on a Jeffries tube beside Keenser, watching Jaylah and Scotty argue over the finer details of warp core technology.

'No lass, you don't understand-'

'No, you listen to me, Montgomery Scotty.' Jaylah was planted before the Scotsman, jaw thrust out in an look Reyne had learned meant 'tell me I'm wrong again and I'll punch your lights out.' That particular expression had made an appearance on several nights out during their academy days, most often before she tapped out some asshat who had been getting a little too cocky.

Not that Jaylah would ever hit Scotty – she considered the man an idol, even if they frequently butted heads. She had ripped through the engineering track at the academy even faster than Starfleet golden boy Jim Kirk had completed the command course, and she loved to point it out – especially if she was losing an argument.

'If you rerouted the warp core power to the secondary drive, it would produce enough power to double our speed at warp.'

Evidentially at the end of his leash, Scotty threw his hands up, and glanced to his second-in-command for assistance but only received a mute shrug from the taciturn Roylan.

Reyne opened her mouth to intervene on the Chief Engineer's behalf, before the insistent beeping of her comm cut off her train of thought.

'Doctor Lyall here.'

'There eez an alien creature on the bridge again, doktor.' Chekov's voice was carefully neutral, lacking the hysterical note that had been present from the last time.

'I'm not on shift, Mr Chekov.' Reyne bit back a sigh, mentally erasing the number of days that she had gone without an incident on this ridiculous starship. 'I think Murray is in the menagerie at the moment, along with Nurse Phillips.'

'The keptain asked-' The young ensign's voice cut off suddenly, followed by what sounded like a short scuffle on the other end of the comm.

'Mr Chekov?'

'Yes, doktor. The signal must have cut off for a moment.' Reyne lifted a brow at the trio of engineers listening intently to the strange exchange. 'As I was saying, Commander Spock has specifically asked for you to deal weeth the alien, as he holds your skills in high regard after having worked closely with you for the last six months.'

'Does he now?' Reyne flashed Jaylah a soft smile as she extended a hand to help her down from the Jeffries tube. Despite her protests over the years, her friend still believed humans to be fragile creatures. Landing lightly, she took a deep breath before replying to the young ensign. 'Alright, Mr Chekov, I'll be right up. And please tell the Captain not to approach the creature. I don't care if someone has to hypo him into unconsciousness. Lyall out'

She shook her head as she disconnected the comm.

'Looks like I'm heading to the bridge.' She grabbed her bag from a nearby workbench, already heading from the turbolift as she waved farewell to her friends.

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Scotty turned to Jaylah as Reyne swept out of engineering and earshot.

'Jim's a right smart lad, but he ain't gonna get anywhere unless he stops pulling on Ree's pigtails an' starts tugging summin' else!' He winked at his third-in-command but was only met with a blank look.

'I do not know this phase - explain this to me, Montgomery Scotty. What else should the captain be pulling?'

Scotty threw a pleading look to Keenser, still balanced on a Jeffries tube just overhead. But the Roylan just shook his head at the mortified Scotsman, jumped down from his perch and wandered off to find somewhere less awkward to be.

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Reyne collapsed into her desk chair. At some point her neat, regulation hair-do had come undone, leaving her dark hair to frizz around her shoulders.

After almost two hours of chasing a hummingbird-griffin around the bridge, Reyne found that she didn't have the energy to care.

'Computer, locate Commander Spock.' While asking the Captain directly about the seemingly accidental incidents on the bridge would prove fruitless, his First Officer may be more forthcoming – especially when presented with flawless logic.

Reyne glanced at the bottle of gin she kept in her bottom desk drawer but reasoned that the Commander would likely frown upon day drinking, regardless of whether she was on shift before she got dragged into the shit-show on the bridge.

'Commander Spock logged into Lab nine approximately thirty-three minutes ago.'

'Thank you.' Thanking the computer system had become a habit that she couldn't bring herself to shake – a product of her upbringing, manners instilled into her by her mother. Who had sought to grant her some semblance of ladylike behaviour in between the martial arts and bug collecting and video gaming that had so entertained her while she grew up.

Reyne groaned as she rolled to her feet, massaging the countless angry scratches that the panicked creature had inflicted upon her arms as it sought to escape.

Hopefully, Commander Spock would be able to shed some light on the situation.

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The door to Lab nine beeped softly as she entered her code into the security pad. The Vulcan commander was hunched over a microscope, the image of a botanical sample projected onto the screen before him.

'Commander?' Although his sensitive hearing had undoubtedly picked up her arrival, it took several seconds for him to drag his attention from the slide in front of him.

'Doctor Lyall, how may I help you?'

'I'm sure you're aware that in recent weeks, there have been several incidents of alien creatures getting loose on the bridge?'

'Yes, I am aware. I have read your incident reports on the matter. Do you have further information?'

Reyne caught herself fidgeting with the sleeve of her uniform and tucked her hands behind her back. Despite being a fully qualified science officer, not a green academy Cadet, it was difficult not to quail under her former instructor's piercing gaze.

'Not exactly. On each occasion, it was reported that it was Captain Kirk who was responsible for the release of the creatures onto the bridge, and each time he has provided an explanation as to how it occurred, but there have been multiple discrepancies in his stories.'

'I see.' Although the Vulcan's expression did not change, she noted a sharpening of his gaze and felt a faint pang of guilt for throwing Kirk under the bus.

'For example, with the Lethian rat, Captain Kirk reported that the rodent must have slipped out of his sleeve once he returned to the ship. This theory is entirely unlikely, as the rat was too large and vicious to have not been noticed by the captain. At the very least, he would have been bitten multiple times. It is also unlikely that the creature would have voluntarily hidden in his clothing.'

Commander Spock was silent for a moment, the cogs in his brilliant mind ticking as he processed this new hypothesis.

'Your logic is most sound, Doctor Lyall. I shall speak with the captain this evening.' He nodded slowly, 'Thank you for informing me of your thoughts, if I receive any further information, I shall update the incident reports on the ships database.'

'Thank you, Commander.' Reyne bobbed her head, offering a small smile but the commander had already turned back to his plant sample.

Turning on her heel, she strode from the lab, already thinking of a hot shower and one of her favourite vids. Gods knew what the captain was up to, but hopefully his First Officer would be able to weasel it out of him.

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'Captain, have you been releasing alien creatures onto the bridge with the purpose of spending more time with Doctor Lyall?' This area of the bridge was mostly deserted, and his First Officer had him cornered. 'She has reason to suspect your motives and I find her logic most sound.'

'Does it really matter, Spock?' He was decidedly uncomfortable with this conversation and was already eyeing the gap between Spock and the nearest science console – judging how quickly he'd need to move in order to get past before his First Officer caught him. 'Only the Lethian rat was dangerous, and even then, I was the only one who got bitten!'

'Your discomfort and avoidance of the question indicates that my hypothesis is true. And as Doctor Lyall has asked me to enquire further about this matter, it is logical to assume that she will ask me about my findings sometime soon.'

'Are you going to tell on me, Spock?' Jim's tone was light, but there was tightness in his throat that refuse to budge. Spock's face was impassive as he studied his captain, but what he found there, Jim couldn't tell. Damn Vulcans and their poker faces. He made a mental note to never invite Spock to the card nights that the bridge crew sometimes held. He got cleared out by Bones and Chekov enough as it was.

'Vulcan's cannot lie, Captain. If Doctor Lyall asks me about this discussion, I will simply tell her the truth. But I suspect that she would prefer to hear it from you.'

'I can't!' Jim threw his hands up, almost taking out a screen in the process. With a yelp, he withdrew his hand and cradled it against his chest. He was not pouting, because that would be undignified.

'Would I be incorrect in stating that you have had numerous sexual encounters both at the Academy and while on shore leave?' Spock raised one eyebrow slightly, which, for a Vulcan, was the equivalent of a wicked smirk.

'No! But Reyne is just… different. She's clever and doesn't sleep around and is utterly unimpressed with me. Don't get me wrong, I've been turned down before – not by many people, mind you. Has Uhura ever told you why she rejected me, by the way?'

'No, she has not.' Cool amusement glimmered in Spock's eyes as he subtly moved a few inches to his right, effectively cutting off Jim's escape route. 'Your efforts to change the subject will not divert me from the matter at hand, Captain.'

Jim made an inarticulate sound of frustration and narrowed his eyes at his First Officer.

'She reminds me a little of Uhura, but with a much better sense of humour – no offense intended. Scotty is always complaining that she and Jaylah have been helping Keenser get into even higher places in engineering when she's off duty. He's threatened to resign twice in the last three weeks. Leonard talks about her sometimes, 'cause they work together, so I know she's kind and patient and I'm so confused Spock.' He inspected his already bruising knuckles, finding any excuse to avoid his friend's gaze. 'I've never wanted anything more than a little flirting and a quick fuck. I don't even know how to go about finding anything else. What if I'm not enough?'

'Captain, while I may not be particularly adept at navigating human social interactions - especially romantic ones – but if being romantically involved with Lieutenant Uhura has taught me anything, it is that learning to accept your partner's flaws is paramount to the happiness of both partners.'

Jim deflated, relationship advice was the last thing he had ever expected to hear from his stoic First Officer. Bones would have a field day when he heard this.

'Alright Spock, I'll speak to her tomorrow. I think she's on Alpha shift in the menagerie.'

With any luck, the rest of the veterinary staff wouldn't be around to overhear the possible humiliating rejection of their captain.

'Very good, Captain.' The pointy-eared bastard had the nerve to look smug as he stepped aside, allowing Jim to escape.

'Yeah well, we'll see about that.' He muttered under his breath, and if his First Officer heard the choice comments he made about meddling crew and where they could stick their nosiness, he chose not to respond.


	3. Chapter 3

The halls were quiet the next morning, Alpha shift had barely begun as Jim strode down the halls of the Enterprise. The usual bounce in his step was damped by the task ahead of him. Generally, all it took for the infamous Captain Kirk to secure a date was a crooked smile and a smouldering look, but here he felt that neither of those would be of any help to him.

The doors to the menagerie slid open without a sound but the bespectacled veterinary officer glanced up at him as he stepped into the main exam room. Jim searched his memory for the name of Reyne's co-worker. Doctor...Anderson?

Yes, Anderson sounded right. It wasn't his fault that usually whenever he was about, Doctor Lyall was also there with that arresting gaze and hourglass figure.

'Can I help you, Captain?' Doctor Anderson straightened, grimacing as he stretched out a kink in his back. There was a vial of vivid blue liquid on the table in front of him, and the sight of it made him shudder involuntarily. He had a sneaking suspicion that it had belonged to the Lethian rat. Jim rubbed the faint scar on his hand subconsciously.

'I was looking for Doctor Lyall. I was told that she was on Alpha shift today.'

He felt decidedly bare as the veterinary officer raised his eyebrows, and he reminded himself that for all Starfleet's scientific breakthroughs, mindreading was not one of them. His mission remained a secret. He hoped.

'She's in the aviary at the moment.' Doctor Anderson tipped his head to a door at the far end of the room. 'I'll go get her for you.'

As the shorter man disappeared through the aviary door, Jim eyed the venom on the desk. His curiosity made him desperate to examine it, to skim over the documents sitting next to it as well. The notes were on old-fashioned paper instead of a PADD and bore the neat, looping handwriting that he knew belonged to Reyne.

Only the memory of Bone's lecture about touching things that he had no business touching stopped him. Sometimes the cure was worse than the disease, he'd discovered; especially when the cure involved admitting to Bones that he touched the thing he had told him not to.

Jim's moral dilemma was cut short as the aviary door swung open once more. Reyne brushed a few stray feathers from her science blues as she headed towards him.

'Murray said you wanted to speak to me?' A wry smile twisted her mouth as she took note of the flush creeping up from beneath his shirt. 'Why don't we talk in my office?'

Jim just nodded mutely and followed the dark-haired woman into a small room tucked into the back of the menagerie. The space was filled by two desks piled high with PADDs and stacks of real paper.

Reyne threw herself into one of the chairs and regarded him with those startling eyes.

'Is this about the creatures you've been releasing onto the bridge?'

The way his eyes widened a fraction told her everything she needed to know about the 'accidental' incidents on the bridge, just as she was sure that Commander Spock's information would further corroborate the evidence.

'No.' The captain was making a valiant effort at keeping his composure, although the faint sheen of moisture on his forehead belied the fact that he was sweating like a green cadet at their first disciplinary meeting. It was nice to see the golden Captain James T Kirk squirm for once. 'I was wondering if you'd like to go out for dinner with me during shore leave next week.'

Reyne's eyebrows shot up. Well she hasn't been expecting that.

Now it was her turn to flush; though she would later blame it on Murray fiddling with the thermostat, even though the ship's computer kept the menagerie at a constant temperate.

Reyne made herself hold her tongue; an overeager _yes_ would do nothing good for Jim's ego. Besides, there was also the implications of dating her superior to consider. Not that Captain Kirk seemed like the type to ruin her career for turning him down.

She rearranged a stack of PADDs before meeting those damnably blue eyes. Surprise hit her when she saw that there was none of the cocky, flirtatious man she had come to expect in his expression. The Jim Kirk before her was bare, gazing at her with such raw _hope_ that she was momentarily at a loss for words.

'I'd like that.'

It was almost comical how Jim visibly sagged with relief, his eyes lighting up as he gave her a crooked grin.

'Great, how does Tuesday at 8pm in the main plaza sound? There's this fantastic little place that Scotty and I went to last time we docked at Yorktown. Their steak is excellent.'

Reyne couldn't help but return his grin. The man was like a puppy – all bouncing exuberance and unshakable optimism. She had to refrain from check to see if he had a tail that was wagging.

'I'll be there.'

With a pleased nod and a final grin, Jim turned to leave the office, giving a jaunty wave to Murray on his way out. Nope, definitely no wagging tail but from her vantage point she had a truly spectacular view of the Captain's ass.

Her co-worker waited all of five seconds after Jim had left the menagerie to pop his head round the door of their shared office.

'I take it the captain finally found the balls to ask you out then?' Murray's eyes glinted with wicked delight behind his thick glasses.

'Wait what?' Reyne jerked her head up to glare at her friend. 'How did you know?'

Murray snorted and strode over to his desk, shifting a stack of paper from his chair.

'Ree, everyone on the ship knows that the captain has been pining after you for months. There's a betting pool on when he would finally grow a pair and make a move. Michael and Stephen owe me 50 credits each – most of the medbay bet that he'd get drunkenly confess his feelings for you during shore leave.'

Murray's smug grin only got wider as she gaped at him.

'Seriously?' Reyne fought back the urge to throw something at him. 'I need to have a word with Doctor McCoy about keeping his nurses in line.'

'He put the most into the medbay pool. Cookie?'

'Those are mine!' Murray just shrugged and popped the biscuit into his mouth.

'I'll buy you more; your love life has made me a lot of credits.'

Reyne sank further into her chair and stifled the urge to strangle her co-workers. But even this couldn't dampen the bubbly feeling in her chest. The one that certainly didn't have anything to do with one Captain James T Kirk.

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Jim was above doing a victory dance. Really, he was. But that didn't quite diminish the bounce in his step as he made his way to the medbay. Bones was gonna _love_ this.


	4. Chapter 4

For some reason, Bones had _not_ been thrilled with his news. In fact, he had let out a stream of particularly foul expletives and pinned Jim with a glare that by all accounts should've set his hair on fire.

Even so, Bones had agreed to help him pick out something to wear to dinner. For all his CMO loved to jab him with hypos, he was the perfect Southern gentleman and he had the manners and fashion sense to match.

Once Jim had swallowed his pride and comm'd Bones, the good doctor had strode into his hotel room within ten minutes, taken one look at what he was wearing and ordered him to strip because 'Good God man, you're not going on a first date to a nice restaurant with a pretty girl wearing _that_.'

Personally, Jim had thought what he'd been wearing hadn't been one of the worst getups he'd tried on before Bones got there, but he deferred to the older man's judgement anyway.

Between the pair of them they had finally agreed on an outfit and that was how Jim found himself standing in front of the mirror, watching his reflection eye the dark jeans, white shirt and dress shoes that Bones had talked him into. They had compromised on the leather jacket, but only because Jim had threatened to reprogram every computer on the ship (besides Spock - he hadn't quite figured out to rewire him yet) to address Bones as 'snugglebunny.'

Mirror-Jim looked as nervous as he felt.

How had he convinced himself he could do this? He was a playboy hick from backwater Idaho. Reyne had a medical degree, no criminal record, _standards_ …

It felt as though a metal band was squeezing his chest; growing tighter and tighter as the chrono ticked closer to when he was supposed to meet Reyne in the plaza.

The room was too bright, the hum of the city outside too loud and his reflection had gone blurry.

'Lights at fifty percent.' He managed to choke out, though his throat felt like it was closing over. 'Bones…'

Jim spun towards his friend, stumbling as he struggled to catch his breath.

'Think 'm having an allergic reaction.'

And then Bones' was gripping his shoulders, hands firm and steady as he pushed him towards the bed. He barely registered as his friend waved the tricorder over him once, twice. The frown lines on Bones' forehead deepened as he checked the results then flicked his gaze back to Jim and the way his shoulders heaved, trying to draw enough oxygen in to stop the room from spinning.

McCoy drew in a deep breath before he spoke, his medical skills diagnosing the issue even as his knowledge of Jim Kirk insisted that this was _highly unlikely_.

'Outta all the things you're allergic to, I doubt that proper first dates are one of them. You're havin' a panic attack, Jim.'

Jim briefly interrupted his breathe in, breathe out, don't-throw-up cycle to shoot a poisonous glare at his friend.

'Just breath, Jim. You'll be alright.' Bones kept his hands on his shoulders, grounding him. 'Hell, Ree was chattering about this date with my nurses the other day – had to shoo her from the medbay so they could get anything done.'

Jim raised his head a little, expression hopeful.

'Really?'

'Yes, really. So quit being an idiot and keep your head between your knees. I don't need you passing out before you've left your room. I had enough of carrying you back to your room at the Academy.'

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Reyne was already in the plaza when he arrived. She was in conversation with a couple of Enterprise crew members. He recognised the taller, darker of the two men as one of Bones' best nurses – distinctive for the sleeves of tattoos that disappeared beneath the cuffs of his civvies. The other was fair haired and shorter, also sporting tattoos and the same Scottish earth accent as Scotty and Reyne. As the trio turned to face him, he placed the shorter man as one of Scotty's crew, a brilliant electrical engineer he'd picked from the Academy himself. Ensign Josh Watt.

Ensign Watt smirked and murmured something to her that made her blush and laugh as she waved them off.

But all thoughts of Reyne's friends left his head as she stepped around nurse Stephen, towards him. Laughter danced in her eyes, a few shades darker than his own, as she took him in. In a navy, knee length dress, her curves could've stopped ships at warp speed.

The artificial lights of Yorktown had been dimmed to mimic sundown, and the lamps overhead illuminated her ivory skin in a warm glow.

'You look amazing.' Oh _great,_ Jim. Thirty years old and _that's_ the best he could do?

'Not too bad yourself, Captain.' He glanced up from his own shoes to see that Reyne was smiling, amusement still glimmering in her eyes as she stepped closer.

Bolstered by the knowledge that he hadn't cocked it up in the first five minutes, Jim let his features slip into a crooked grin. With slowly-returning confidence, he grasped her hand, bringing it up to his mouth and pressing a lingering kiss to her knuckles.

Reyne's eyebrows shot up but she didn't pull her hand away.

'I promised Stephen that I'd let you know that I'm armed.' She delivered the line with such casual amusement that his heart nearly stopped in his chest with a painful _thud_. But she tightened his grip on his hand before gracefully looping her arm around his waist. 'Don't worry, I don't intend to use it. I very much want to be here.'

Her grin was warm as she tilted her head to one side, and her height meant that she didn't need to raise her gaze far to meet his eyes. 'I want to be here, Jim.'

'You're terrible.' He draped his arm over her shoulders, enjoying the warmth of her body tucked against his side.

Reyne shrugged slightly, the movement shifting his arm. 'I only own one knife. If you think that's bad, you should meet Stephen - he always has at least two on his person at any given time. Legal carries, of course. Although there was that Cardassian hunting knife he was looking at last shore leave…'

She trailed off as she registered the expression of disbelief that must've shown on his face.

'My friends are weird.'

'I think Scotty and Jaylah would take offence to that.' They passed storefronts and restaurants; lit with strings of jewel-toned lights and orbs that floated above the heads of passers-by.

'Scotty was exalting the virtues of deep fried mars bars and pickle sandwiches yesterday. I don't think he gets a say in this.'

'That seems fair.' Jim laughed, feeling lighter than he had in a long while. 'So I have to ask, where are you keeping a knife in that get up?'

Reyne's gaze slid slowly over to him as a wicked smirk lifted the corners of her mouth.

'A lady never tells, Captain.'

!

!

!

It was well past midnight by the time they made it back to the hotel that most of the crew were staying in. His face hurt from the grin that he'd had on for most of the evening and his fingers were tangled with hers.

Too soon, they reached her door and the conversation petered out as they both silently acknowledged the choice that lay before them.

'I really enjoyed tonight.' It would seem that his sparkling wit had failed him once again tonight. He fumbled for the right words to convey what he felt, a way to secure another night like this and maybe another after that. 'I just mean, I had expected to, of course, despite the panic attack I had earlier.'

'Panic attack?' Concern laced Reyne's voice, brows kitting together as she searched his face.

 _Shit_. He hadn't meant to say that. Quick, Jim, _think_.

'Right, here goes nothing.' He forced himself to hold her gaze, to watch for her reaction. 'For most of my life, I've never tried particularly hard when it comes to dating. Usually all it takes is an introduction and my reputation does the rest but with you, that doesn't work cause you just _don't care_. You've never fallen at my feet and you want more from me than a quick fuck and some pretty words. And that terrifies me. I panicked 'cause I don't believe I deserve someone like you, Reyne.'

'You're right – I don't care about any of those things. I said yes because you're also the Jim Kirk who regularly attempts to sacrifice himself for his friends; who actually _died_ to save a ship full of people he barely knew. I said yes because underneath the charisma and the recklessness and the batshit crazy, even without knowing you all that well, I've seen and heard glimpses of a heart of gold and an intellect to rival Commander Spock's. My point is, you're multifaceted, Jim; and are much more than you think you are. Plus, the package it's all wrapped up in doesn't hurt.' A smirk lifted the corner of her mouth. 'I'm aware you don't have the best track record when it comes to long-term partners; but if you're willing to try, then I'll happily boldly go where no one else has before.'

Well, if that wasn't an invitation then he didn't know what was…

The sound of the Captain's Oath falling from that mouth was downright obscene, but it was all Jim could do to lean forward, a silent answer to a question she hadn't asked out loud. He closed his eyes, held his breath until he felt the warmth of her mouth against his. Reyne pressed slow kisses to his lower lip, lingering too long for it to be called chaste, but far too reverent to be lewd.

Jim found that it was nice to share a first kiss that didn't taste of alcohol – that wasn't fast and hard and needy. Not to say that there was no lust there, just that he was perfectly content to lean against the door of her room and continue this slow exploration of lips and tongues and teeth.

A whine escaped him as she pulled away; spots of colour high on her cheeks, lips ever-so-slightly swollen from the kiss.

'You're terrible for my self-control.'

'Who needs self-control anyway?' Certainly not James T Kirk. His grin was twelve kinds of filthy as he gazed at her with heavy-lidded eyes. 'I might not be Uhura with her fancy xenolinguistics degree, but I've been told that I have _excellent oral sensitivity_.'

A beat of silence followed, before Reyne's face crumpled and she doubled over with laughter, the sound rich and sweet and deeper than he had expected. Jim decided right there that Reyne's laughter was his favourite sound in the entire galaxy and he would gladly make a fool out of himself just to hear it every day of their 5-year mission.

Dark eyebrows knitted together as she fought for breath, and she could already feel herself flushing to the tips of her ears. She thought back to the one time she had seen Jim shirtless in the medbay after an away mission – the man had a body made for pleasure and sin and even then, she had decided that no one should be allowed to be so goddamn _beautiful._

'And not just oral sensitivity,' Jim pushed his advantage, never one to miss an opportunity. 'Let's not forget dexterity, flexibility, _stamina-'_

The Many Virtues of Jim Kirk were cut short as Reyne grabbed the lapels of his jacket and yanked him down for another kiss – this one decidedly more heated. Her clever tongue flicked along the seam of lips before gently tugging his lower lip between her teeth, earning a low groan from Jim.

Jim tangled his fingers in her thick, dark locks, tugging hard enough to elicit a gasp from the doctor.

'Is this your way of telling me to shut up? Cause if it is, you can tell me to shut up anytime.' And Jim found that he was entirely open to this kind of positive reinforcement, especially when it involved a hotter than Hell medical officer and her unholy way of finding that spot on his neck that – _fuck_.

Reyne bit down and his hips jerked involuntarily. Her thigh was a solid presence between his legs, the seam of her jeans enough to produce a maddening amount of friction against him and _dammit_ he was the captain of Starfleet's flagship, not some overeager teenager getting to second base with a girl for the first time.

Her smile took on a distinctly naughty cast and he'd be damned if it didn't go straight to his dick – like he needed any help in that department. A pleasant daydream of an unruly science officer in need of punishment, pulled up in front of her captain for insubordination filled his brain.

'I don't put out on the first date, Jim.' Her voice was soft, a gentle reminder. 'It's late, I'll see you tomorrow?'

'Yeah, see you tomorrow.'

With one last smile and a quick peck on the cheek, Reyne tapped in her room code and disappeared into the darkened room, leaving Jim to sag against the wall.

She had him wrapped around her finger already.

He was in so much shit.


	5. Chapter 5

I'm so sorry for the massive hiatus between chapters – uni and life got in they way. This chapter is mainly filler and kinda unpolished but I hope you guys enjoy it!

Reyne smiled to herself as the door to her room swished shut, the lights automatically coming on as she entered the space. Although basic, the hotel room was far bigger than her quarters aboard the Enterprise. Despite the flagship's size, it housed over a thousand crew members and space was very much limited.

The bubbly feeling in her chest hadn't abated since Jim had first asked her to dinner – if anything it had gotten worse. With a shake of her head that dislodged several of the bobby pins in her hair, Reyne reached back to grab the zipper on her dress.

It took her several minutes and as many spins to grasp the tiny metal zip but the relief of being out of the tight dress was instant. As lovely as it looked – the garment had not been made for comfort. It had almost been as uncomfortable as the thigh holster that her legal-carry was tucked into.

Thankfully the strap hasn't come loose during dinner. She felt that some of her mystery would've been lost if she'd had to hike the garter back up her leg in the middle of the restaurant. Classy.

Her feet ached as she climbed into her bed, but despite her exhaustion, Reyne's mind whirled with memories and colours from the last few hours. The bubbly feeling from the other week hadn't abated, in fact it had spread, fizzing in her chest as she replayed the kiss over in her head.

She hadn't been on a date in a long time, not one she'd enjoyed half as much, There had always been the Academy, then work, and despite her friends' urgings the years had just slipped by. But somehow James T Kirk had forced his way into her life; with a cocky grin and surprising depth of character. She was powerless to resist.

A soft sile remained on her lips as she drifted into sleep.

Two pairs of hands grasped Reyne's elbow as soon as the door swished shut. If it hadn't been for the strength in the grip on her arm, she wouldn't tripped over her own feet as her friend slipped into step beside her.

'Were you waiting outside my room?'

'Nah, lucky coincidence.' Ensign Layla Scott (no relation to Montgomery Scott), grinned up at her, her dusky yellow skin glowing like the dawn even in the artificial lighting. Her right hands loosened their grip on Reyne as they continued along the hotel's plush corridors. 'So…'

'My date with the captain?' Reyne huffed in amusement.

'Yes! Tell me everything.' It wasn't a long walk to the entrance, and before long the pair were blinking in the mid-morning light. Having known Layla since the Academy, she barely noted when her hair seemed to shimmer and change colour. Although it was an easy mistake to make, her 'hair' was actually make up of thousands of opaque fibrile filaments that refracted light and changed colours with her surroundings, much like the oceans of Earth.

Reyne had made her watch an old Terran movie called Avatar once and the Pertalian had laughed herself hoarse over the 'hair sex.' 'I'm surprised you didn't end up in his room. Did you two-' She made a sound in her swooping, bell-like language, accompanied by a gesture that involved three of her hands and a vulgar-looking tongue movement.

'I don't know what that means, and I don't even think I want to.' Reyne tried to arrange her face into something approaching unamused and failed miserably, shoulders shaking with laughter as she shook her head.

'Humans.' Layla sighed dramatically, tipping her head back as they continued towards the main plaza. 'The way you reproduce is so boring. I bet I could show you a proper good time.'

'This is harassment.' Reyne commented mildly. 'I am being sexually harassed.'

'Whatever. You still hadn't told me anything about your date.' The Peraltian pouted, crossing her upper set of arms petulantly. The lower set remained behind her back, gloved hands loosely linked. It was a common posture for her species, to keep their second set of thoracic limbs away from accidental contact, even when wearing gloves. Their secondary hands contained billions of psychosensory nerve endings, and even the smallest of contacts could be overwhelming. Humans were such an emotional species, Layla had explained once, that touching them without years of training and experience was a sensory overload – like a million fireworks going off in your head at once.

'It was nice. Really nice, actually.' She smiled, remembering the previous night. 'First base only, before you ask.' Her friend only rolled her eyes. 'We actually have a lot in common.'

'Will he be getting a second date?'

'If he wants one.' Reyne laughed, adjusting the stack of PADDs under her arm.

'Of course he does.' Layla frowned as she finally noticed their trajectory. 'Why are you going back to the ship? You do know we're on shore leave, right?'

'Animals are still on board.' Reyne shrugged, 'We're only doing minimal checks, but I want to keep an eye on the leviathan.'

The creature in question was an aquatic reptilian species that they'd found on a K-class planet several months ago, affectionately named Noodle by the vet team. It was no longer than a foot in length, but so closely resembled the titanic sea creatures of ancient myth that they'd named the new species leviathan istum aquaticus. There had been some debate as to whether they should keep it aboard the Enterprise; several crew members weren't convinced that the creature had reached its full size and they would wind up with a forty-tonne sea serpent aboard the ship.

However, Noodle had yet to grow any bigger, despite his voracious appetite for prawns, which he cooked using a peculiar ability to super-heat the water in his tank that had only ever been observed in rainbow mantis shrimp centuries ago on Earth.

Layla gave an exaggerated shudder. 'That thing creeps me out.'

'Aww but he's so cute, look at his little whiskers.' Reyne pulled out her comm, tapping away to bring up a picture.

'And I'm off.' She stepped away before she could show her the photo. 'Enjoy your creepy fish-snake thing, and tell Murray I said hi.'

'Will do, though I don't think he's coming in today.' She mimed taking a draw of a blunt, making her friend snort through her nose.

'Alright, see you around then. I'm off to see that see horror film at the holo-cine.'

Reyne waved good-bye as she watched her retreating figure head back towards the city. The checks wouldn't take too long, and the film that Layla had mentioned did look good. Maybe she'd ask Jaylah if she wanted to go and see it. Although, she never had been able to break her of the habit of commenting loudly on the movie, much to the annoyance of the rest of the audience.

That was a problem for later.


End file.
